Distance learning courses in occupational medicine - Methods and good practice

Abstract

The need for training in Occupational Medicine in India is well known. The majority of company doctors cannot leave their work and join a residence program. The question which course delivery mode-residential or blended or distance education-is appropriate to teach working company doctors is therefore an urgent one. Adult education: Adults learners-in contrast to young students-have a lot prior experiences and knowledge which they want to use. They have tight personal schedules and are very practical and goal-oriented. They usually have a fulltime work. Adults need more guides than lecturers. Immediate use, practice by doing and discussion groups are the most powerful tools in teaching. Lecturing seems to be the most ineffective teaching method. Distance education is widely used already in teaching occupational health & safety and occupational medicine (OS H) in other countries. Almost 100% of all postgraduate teaching in occupational medicine is done by distance education in the UK. A "blended" course model seems appropriate for Occupational Medicine teaching. It has contact phases and self-learning phases The Indian Association of Occupational Health could play a leading role in expending high quality teaching in Occupational Medicine. These activities would contribute to the Government's goals to strengthen Occupational Health in India. This article discusses distance education and onlineteaching as one viable way to deliver high quality training in Occupational Medicine to working company doctors in India.

A study of morbidity pattern among iron and steel workers from an industry in central India

“…Out of 11 million cases of occupational diseases in the world, 1.9 million (17%) are contributed by India; and out of 0.7 million deaths in the world, 0.12 million (17%) is contributed by India. [ 8 ] In 1986, the workforce in our country was 6 million, which now is 62 million due to the tremendous mushrooming of industries. [ 8 ]…”

“…[ 8 ] In 1986, the workforce in our country was 6 million, which now is 62 million due to the tremendous mushrooming of industries. [ 8 ]…”

The pattern of morbidity and use of social security schemes among the steel plant workers in an industrial district of Odisha

“…[ 5 ] It is estimated that 17 million nonfatal and 0.045 million fatal injuries occur each year in India. [ 6 ]…”

Occupational health crossing borders—Part 1: Concept, teaching methods, and user evaluation of the first international summer school in Munich, Germany

“…In contrast to many other short-term regional programs taught in the local languages, our course took place in Europe with participants and course instructors from diverse cultural backgrounds [Cook et al, 1999;Froines and Barile, 1999;Petropoulos et al, 1999;Wagner et al, 2005;Elgstrand and Ryan, 2007; McGill University Summer School Program, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McGill_University_Faculty_of_ Medicine; SALTRA Program, http://www.saltra. info].…”

“…Besides the costs, the time involved and the language barriers, the specialists do not always return to their parent countries after their training; this in turn has a negative impact on the economic development [Knave, 2002]. Others have started local initiatives which may be more accessible to the students and consequently guarantee focused OHS learning which can be implemented in the context of their current jobs [Wagner et al, 2005]. However, availability of instructors or travel costs for instructors from industrialized countries may prove to be additional obstacles.…”